Lowcountry Doctors Warn Lone Star Tick Bites May Trigger 450,000-Case Red Meat Allergy
Updated
Updated · Live 5 News WCSC · Jun 24
Lowcountry Doctors Warn Lone Star Tick Bites May Trigger 450,000-Case Red Meat Allergy
3 articles · Updated · Live 5 News WCSC · Jun 24
Summary
South Carolina health experts are warning Lowcountry residents that bites from the Lone Star tick—the state’s most common tick species—can trigger Alpha-Gal syndrome, a rare allergy to red meat and other mammal products.
8 to 12 hours after eating beef, pork or dairy, patients can develop hives, swelling, breathing trouble, vomiting or stomach pain, a delayed pattern that often makes the cause hard to identify.
A 2023 CDC study estimated about 450,000 Americans may have developed the condition after tick saliva introduced the alpha-gal sugar and triggered an immune response.
Doctors say most tick bites do not lead to the allergy, some patients improve if they avoid new bites, and another bite can reactivate it.
Experts are urging prevention rather than avoiding the outdoors: wear long sleeves and pants, use repellent, tuck pants into socks, and check people and pets for ticks.